Descending Despairs
. Late afternoon. It was a strange day for this bustling city of thousands upon thousands. Normally, the day was busy, with the various grade schools engaging in their lessons, their outdoor activities, and eventually their extracurriculars, while the adults of the large city were up to their usual agendas. Whether it was the school districts, the shopping districts, the business districts, or what have you, one could find a busy atmosphere of people in every corner. But this day was strange. There was an eerie calm that seemed to envelop the city. Many children decided to not attend their routine sport meetings or hobbies, some adults called in their sick days, and even some high schools saw a rather steep drop in attendance this day. People were remaining indoors today, all throughout the city infamous for its constant commerce. Was it possible that unbeknownst to their conscious minds, deep down to their most basic human instincts, they could sense an incoming danger? The clouds high in the air seemed just as quiet as the town, floating by peacefully along the air current which carried them. But almost as if it were a natural phenomena, some clouds began to change course, swirling toward a center point in the skies as a faint wispy energy began to permeate that section of the skies. It looked like a flat disc of swirling white clouds, and as it formed, a hand was slowly seen creeping out from the inside. This was no natural occurrence, this was a portal opened by powerful magic. The hand moved out closer and a foot could then be seen coming out, before long came out from that swirling portal. He was strange in his appearance, dressed in a flamboyant azure suit with darker blue arrows etched onto its design. His hair was short yet burst with an intense turquoise color which illuminated in the orange light of the falling afternoon sun. As he exited the portal, he looked back toward it and formed a light grin. "So is this the place? Osaka?" he questioned. "That is correct, Arata" a voice spoke from behind the oddly dressed man. It was a woman of small stature but of great presence; her black ponytail whipped about in the wind as she looked down at Osaka below. Distaste marred her fair features, and her eyes looked quesy, as if she was witnessing a bunch of insects crawl about at her feet -- it was an apt description, truthfully. Looking at her partner, Megumi briefly ran over the orders that had been issued by the Masked Man. She and her accomplice were to find the ragtag group of mageless misfits which went by the name of Xstence. It had come to her masters attention that they harbored at least two Soul Fragments, which were instrumental for The Coven to assert its rightful place as rulers of a glorious magocracy spanning all the planes. The targets were one Kōhaku Morimoto and their leader, Tetsuo Momohara. Arata was a huge access to the Coven, and Megumi was a battle-mage of great skill, she would ensure that Arata wouldn't come to harm, and deal with any futile insurgence from the mageless. Megumi shifted through the air, guided by currents of wind that served to hold her aloft, and to Arata's side. "Our quarry should be down there, it is a pity that they'll never realize what grand design they help bring into motion. Alas, such is the curse of the mageless, foolishly unaware of anything that goes beyond their narrow worldviews. Rest easy though, for after tonight, they will surely be enlightened." "You have a way with words, Megumi-kun. I couldn't have said that better myself", another voice resounded amongst the winds of their high vantage point. An elderly man joined the two young people, clad in a distinct, dark blue robe with golden adornments shaped into the likeness of flames. Jurō Henkō, a seasoned wizard, was to accompany them on this mission. The master of eldritch fire and an associate of Yōkai, capable of summoning those fell entities to his aid in battle. He stroked his greying beard, beholding the sight beneath him. He did not think highly of Humans either, though he could not deny being interested in their ways of coping with debilitating weakness. If slightly. "Since we know the identity of our targets, let's not waste our precious time. Would you like to track them down on your own, or should I do the honours?", he asked politely of his accomplices, exposing the intricate pattern of tattoos on his right forearm while he pulled up the sleeve of his robe. Speaking of tracking, the first of those targets had been going about his day as had been expected of him. The Morimoto Conglomerate was a booming multi-national enterprise with its fingers in many different pies, it dabbled in tech and entertainment, production, any market that it could snake its way into, it had. Of course it could only have gotten to where it had so quickly thanks to the heavy contributions of the conglomerate's Yakuza connections. No more did those results speak out than when Kōhaku was forced to attend board meetings. His father's ailing health had forced the young business graduate to take his father's place before he was ready, but he nonetheless managed the role well for what little part he actually played in the conglomerate's day-to-day affairs. By and large his participation was limited to these meetings, where the board of directors gathered and squabbled over the company's direction. Many of the chairs were filled by people with obvious connections, if they didn't immediately dress the part, then the occasional slip of their would give them away. After hours of sighing and meandering away at tedium, Kōhaku was all too glad to be pulled from the meeting when the PA informed him that someone had arrived to see him. — — "If you call me 'chan' again, I'll snap yer neck, got that?", said Emi Tenka with the tongue of a viper. Her dull expression making her threat seem almost casual, and all the more intimidating for it. "Eh heh heh, er... So, Emi-kun, what brings you here?", Kōhaku replied nervously, his hands pushing at the air in front of him as if trying to expand his personal space. The smile that he'd gained from escaping his meetings had started to twitch, threatening to break into a frown. Remain positive, remain positive!, the white-haired man thought to himself. "Michiyo wanted me to drop this off, said you'd been lookin' for it", Emi eyed the simple brown, sellotape-covered parcel that rested under her arm, swiftly drawing it out and limply tossing it in Kōhaku's direction. The way it was thrown ensured it would land on the table that separated the two, but carried just enough force that the contents within would probably shatter upon impact. Seeing that, Kōhaku shot out his hand as if by reflex to catch it, but found that it was just out of arm's reach. Of course, the sudden green outline manifesting around the box highlighted that he'd done more than stretch in vain. He'd harnessed the power of Fullbring to grasp at the soul of the box, and ushered it onwards with a command "deliver yourself to me". So it was that the box drifted lightly through the air and into Kōhaku's waiting grasp. He opened the box with haste to reveal a transparent orb-shaped vase that contained a beautiful arrangement of . Safely contained in the glass, the poisonous plant would be easy to maintain this way with an opening at the top to supply it with water and the clarity of the glass allowing easy access to the Sun. Kōhaku had been looking for this particular plant ever since he'd found it in a book of symbolism, and the beaming glow he projected now was sure to have delighted miss Tanaka. He would have to thank her in person as soon as he was free of the office. "Well, have fun with yer peace lily, I got other stuff to deliver", Emi waved the man off before turning to leave. "Lily-of-the-valley!", he corrected her, loudly. Though her only response was a shrug. The girl was a florist's assistant, but that didn't mean she cared. ---- The low hum of powerful generators muffled the echoing footsteps of the two engineers who walked along an access bridge above the main floor at the Sakaiko Natural Gas Plant. Both wore white dustcoats over their suits and hardhats, and they carried tablets that functioned as computerized clipboards. Their nametags were printed in katakana for easy identification. The older man’s name, who had steel-gray hair and wore glasses, was Hideji Katayama, while the younger man, whose only noticeable feature was the diagonal scar that cut across his left temple, was Tetsuo Momohara. “The sooner we find that short, the better,” Hideji told his colleague. “We’ll have to check each control panel on the main line.” “Why won’t the scanners work?” Tetsuo asked. “The failsafe system is connected to the main line at two break-way points, unfortunately,” the man explained. “I see. However, if we shut off the access-port...” Tetsuo began to suggest, causing Hideji’s eyes to light up with the idea. “Of course!” the two continued to discuss the task at hand as they reached one of the control panels. While Hideji made notes on his tablet, Tetsuo opened the box and began to run through a perfunctory check of the system. While he had offered a way as to how they might determine the location of the short using normal means, he had only come up with the explanation in order to disguise his true intentions. Tetsuo glanced at Hideji to make sure the other man wasn’t paying attention before he placed his hand on the wires attached to the box. Closing his eyes and inhaling deeply, he pulled gently on the soul of the electricity coursing through the lines. Since the control panel was attached to the failsafe system, he first sensed the circuit flow running through the facility in its entirety before he began to narrow his search to pinpoint accuracy. Tetsuo felt somewhat guilty about relying upon Fullbring to help him in such a simple task, but he wanted to avoid redundancy and thus speed things up. Considering how closely his occupation was tied to his supernatural affinity, he found it was often all to easy to “cheat,” and this, along with his high degree of aptitude in his field, had allowed him to quickly reach the position of assistant supervisor in systems management despite having only worked at Sakaiko for about two years. His superior was Hideji. At first, Tetsuo had been concerned that the man would feel threatened by his presence in the company, but Hideji had soon confided that he had wanted to retire for some time, and hoped Tetsuo would take his position. The two had since become close partners. “Momohara-kun, are you alright?” Hideji asked, as he had noticed Tetsuo closing his eyes. “Ah, yes, sorry. There seems to be an arc-circuit break at terminal six,” Tetsuo told Hideji after he had determined the location of the short. “Are you sure?” Hideji asked, “How did you find that out?” “According to the monitor, the output levels are—” Tetsuo stopped as his senses suddenly picked up on a powerful spiritual pressure that, while not connected to the circuit at all, shot through him due to the fine-tuned state of his Reikaku. Still holding onto the wires, the feeling practically stabbed him with its abruptness, pressing into the back of his neck like a cold knife. Tetsuo drew back from the control panel as if he had been shocked, and grabbed his neck as he tried to determine where exactly the disturbance had come from. “Is something wrong?” Hideji asked again, concerned. “I have a migraine.” Tetsuo lied. “Perhaps it would be better if you took the rest of the day off,” Hideji suggested, “You haven’t seemed yourself all morning.” What he said was true. Tetsuo had woken up with a certain restlessness that had not diminished as the day progressed, even though he had tried to ignore it since the feeling seemed to have no explicable cause. He nodded. “That would be greatly appreciated.” “You’ve already made my job here easier,” Hideji said as he patted Tetsuo on the shoulder. “Don’t work so hard. You should take better care of yourself.” “Thank you, senpai.” Tetsuo bowed slightly to show his gratitude, although his stomach twisted with the guilt of having lied to his superior. However, the Reiatsu he had felt could no longer be ignored, as it seemed to be coming from the direction of Ikeda. ---- Tetsuo stepped outside the facility and blinked against the bright, midday sun. The skies were an almost perfect blue, with only a few wispy clouds drifting high overhead and the sea, which he could see to the west, seemed unusually calm. A stiff breeze came from the north, the same direction of the Reiatsu, and Tetsuo began to feel even more anxious. Having left his hat and dustcoat behind, he loosened his tie as he felt a slight, electrical surge of excitement with the prospect of coming face-to-face with an unidentified spiritual being. If it had been a Hollow, there would have been no need for concern, as he would have simply relied on the other Fullbringers in Ikeda to handle it. But the disturbance he had felt was distinctively other, possibly even a Shinigami. Tetsuo quickened his pace before he reached his car, a sleek black Audi, and started the engine. As he turned out of the parking lot, he reached into the glove box and pulled out two, steel tonfa, which he set on the left passenger seat. Keeping one eye on the road and another towards the north, hoping he might catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had appeared, Tetsuo quickly used his cell phone to dial the number of a friend he knew would be closer to the disturbance than he was. “I know you can sense that too, Kō,” he said. Otherwise I’m becoming delusional, he added in his mind. “Tell Michiya and Emi to meet at headquarters, and put everyone else on stand-by, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” While he could have reached Ikeda in a fraction of the time if he had used the high-speed movement granted by his Fullbring, he would rather take the risk of pushing his speed than have someone notice him flying through the sky. That aside, he had no idea how much of a threat the spiritual presence truly posed, but he hoped it was nothing major. Instinctively, however, he knew that would not be the case. "Like pigs to the slaughter." A wicked grin came across the face of Arata, who along with his cohorts, had already spotted the first of their targets. In truth, the three mages that had come to the city were hidden from perception. A basic feat of their magic — to make their bodies hidden, their presence masked in such a way that it would be impossible to distinguish them from the air, and of course, their spiritual pressure hidden from . Sound itself was cut off, allowing them to communicate regularly without fear of being overheard. Similarly, their scent was masked, blending in with the classic 'big city' smell that subtly permeated the skies, and their very actions were muffled by the magic spell shielding them. Hidden within this shrouded space, the three observed the first of their targets mobilizing toward the source of reiatsu which he picked up on. The grin plastered on Arata was as menacing as it was cold. Standing there, atop the skies and adorned with familiar black garbs, were two individuals: a and a . Both were dressed in the robes of the . It would be a cause for alarm if anybody from the Soul Society were to see who exactly these two individuals were, but more than likely, the members of the Fullbringer group that these Coven mages were after had never come across these unfortunate beings. For in truth, unbeknownst to those that would cross paths with these two, they had died well over nine years ago. Of course, they weren't themselves, and as such, their reiatsu carried a much stranger feel to it than the originals ever had. No wonder they wouldn't be recognized as Shinigami. They were the source of the powerful reiatsu radiating over the skies of Ikeda and further out, though the mage controlling them was careful not to allow any interruption. He was a master of the binding arts, due to his poor aptitude with the combative arts, which meant he could quite simply craft a barrier around the perimeter of the city. Alone, it would have taken him some time to accomplish it around such a large city, but with his two cohorts, it was done within minutes; performed in such a subtle manner that not even the most skilled of sensors would have noticed the change in the city. A barrier that did not keep anybody in or out, but one that completely cut off the flow of reiatsu. If anybody were to try and aim their reikaku toward the field where the barrier was cast, they would sense nothing more than they would in any ordinary human city in the living world; a place devoid of spiritual activity. They had to be sure they would not have any , after all. "If you both do not mind, I'll take the lead. As I'm sure you both noticed, our shrewd friend was quick to call for back-up. I trust you both can handle whoever they may be?" Arata mused, his words aimed at his comrades while his sight was set on the incoming Tetsuo, who was more than likely going to reach the location of the two Shinigami waiting for him. "As you wish, my comrade. I'll remain within range of you at all times, your talents are of great value to the Coven. I will ensure your continued safety to the best of my abilities." With gentle movements, Megumi wove rivulets of electricity around her in a spherical form, utilizing the base spell of in order to generate a lightning-based force Field. Likewise, she attuned her spiritual energy to the element of lightning, for she had received knowledge that one member of Xstence used lightning-elemental attacks; by attuning her spiritual energy in this manner, she greatly increased her natural resistance to the element, a quirk of being a mage of significant ability. In response, her reiatsu flared outwards and crackled as if to emphasize her actions, before she turned her eyes to look forwards once more, before uttering to the other mages. "Very well, the time has come for these kittens to catch themselves a mouse. Jurō, you'll do the honors, won't you?" Moving swiftly, Megumi tightened her spiritual energy tightly around herself, for while she trusted the barrier they'd set up, she refused to underestimate their opponents. Failure to retrieve the Soul Fragments weren't an option to her, and she would give it her all even if she were up against regular humans if necessary. "Naturally", replied Henkō with a nod. "It is only appropriate for the elderly to guide the young, after all." With those words, he outstretched both of his arms in front of him. Then, he clasped his hands and jutted them forward. Whilst spiritual energy surged through his body, some of the lines tattooed on his skin shone with the colour of muted gold. All masters of Kidō had their personal ways of overcoming basic limitations of their chosen art, and like any other mid-rank member of the Coven, Henkō displayed a remarkable degree of skill and insight. "Bakudō #58, ", he recited the spell's name. There was no need to draw a circle with ink or powder. Instead, he moulded his spiritual pressure to manifest large, glowing symbols in front of the group. Quickly, they assumed the shape of a circle with a set of coordinates within. Two separate sets of coordinates, extremely precise, and constantly changing to reflect movement of their two targets. There was no escape for them now. "Two magnificent fruits, ripe for the picking", the wizard mused. The second of those fruits, which had been relatively stationary until now began to move, and just so, the spell adjusted for every step, no matter how minuscule. Kōhaku, who had been happily awing away at the newest decoration in his office was pulled away from his own amusement by two distractions. The first was more mundane, his cellphone had began ringing, chirping away with a muffled tone from within the pocket of his work slacks. He already knew why, the second distraction. His senses had flared up, a niggling sting in the back of his mind that had alerted him to the arrival of something. He couldn't tell what, exactly, it was, but it didn't feel like a Hollow, which only made his heart sink lower. Something unknown was something dangerous. He lifted his phone from his pocket, and a faint smile drew onto his face. Tetsuo felt the same way, of course he did. Affirming that thought, he pressed that familiar green button and was immediately bestowed with the sound of his friend's voice. It was a quick and straight exchange, more a delegation of orders than anything else, though it still worked to comfort the Fullbringer. "Got it, I'll meet you at Hōnara". With a simple reply of his own, Kōhaku hung up, and swiftly navigated through the phone's directory to call Emi. There was a few stalled moments of waiting, the sound of the dial tone drilling into Kōhaku's ear. In situations like this, he always felt everything was a little sharper, more clear. Knowing that those half-seconds he spent simply listening were going to be wasted, Kōhaku had already begun motioning for his own exit of the building. A giant skyscraper like the Morimoto building would have been a long and tedious elevator ride, or a long and arduous climb down the many, many flights of stairs. He didn't have time for that. With a succinct pop, one of the windows of his office had freed itself from its sealant and now gentle floated through the air, bathing in the Fullbringer's spiritual power. He stood like that for now, arm outstretched watching the glass, until Emi answered his call. There was breathing on the other end, but apart from that, silence. "Emi-kun, get Miss Tanaka and meet us at HQ", as before, the words spoken were quick and tense, like marching orders from a military communications outpost. Emi didn't even have to reply, before Kōhaku hung up and pocketed the phone. He was sure she'd get it done. He had to be. Distractions out of the way at last, the young businessman walked towards the window, at this elevation, the sheer wind threatened to suck him into the sky, though he had to climb another window before it could do so. As he let go, he was pulled into a free fall, and used his power once more to return the window to its proper place. It wasn't the last use of Fullbring he would be making today, indeed, everything about his new predicament required its constant supervision. Working on the air as he passed through it, he has slightly decreased the speed at which he fell, keeping some air trapped in his lungs as well so that he wouldn't suddenly pass out. He had avoided taking the lift, or the stairs, because doing so would take a long time. But he was also worried about involving innocent bystanders. Whether he liked it or not, Kōhaku was still Human, and so, unlike a Hollow or a Shinigami, he could be seen by everyone else. Having fireballs and other horrific things thrown at him was dangerous, especially when no one else could see it. But fighting back in plain view? That would scare people. So would crashing into the middle of a busy street of course, and rather than contemplate that fact, Kōhaku was quick to maneuver into his next set of machinations. He pulled on the air, and a great ring of green radiated out and around him, then he launched forward like a bullet towards a rooftop. Far lower than where his office was, but still high enough that no one would have really noticed his presence in the air. With momentum like that though, he was sure to have problems, if it weren't for Fullbring. His body became harder than stone, and the rooftop's friction rapidly rose as he landed which brought him to a safe and relatively quick stop. "That's one hurdle down", he mused lightly, throwing off his suit jacket and undoing his tie. He looked towards Hōnara, the old abandoned town in the distance. He had to hurry. ---- Tetsuo stopped the car in front of his family home, which lay on the outskirts of Ikeda between the city and the small town of Hōnara. He looped his tonfa through his belt, keeping the weapons pressed against the small of his back and hidden beneath his suit. Leaving his cell phone behind, he took his pager instead in case someone tried to track him, but was careful to mute the device before pocketing it. Then, he took off at a dead run. His footsteps instinctively carried him up the steep path and through the woods, and he reached the abandoned town in no time. Again, he had not drawn upon his spiritual abilities in order to keep his own pressure as faint as possible, hoping he might remain disguised as a normal human. He could sense the presence of the spiritual being somewhere overhead, and as such he avoided the main roads, instead threading his way through the overgrown underbrush until he had come to the short clearing in front of Hōnara’s old high school. A high, chain link fence hedged in the dilapidated building, and the broken windows stared back at him like empty sockets. But nothing moved. Tetsuo removed his pager from his pocket and quickly glanced at the screen, but he had so far received no messages. He considered making a run for it: dashing across the open clearing in order to get inside the school. After all, there was as of yet no sign of the mysterious newcomers. But then, as he scanned the skies above, he at last caught sight of two distant figures in flowing back robes. His stomach sank. They were indeed Shinigami. Tetsuo crouched in the shadows, attempting to make his Reiatsu as small as possible as he watched the two warriors and waited for the other Fullbringers to arrive. He would approach them only if they first took notice of him. As beings who possessed unbridled power, Tetsuo had never trusted the Shinigami. Today was no exception. He wondered what they were doing there in Osaka in the middle of the day, and he wanted some back up just in case their purpose was to attack. "Show time." The two Shinigami remained stationary and silent, almost as if they did not take note of the Fullbringer nearby. When alive, these two — Rukia and Renji — were among the elite within the Gotei 13's battalions. But it was different now. They met their end in the war nine years ago, but were brought back by the magic of Arata; literal mere shells of themselves. In truth, they did take notice of the Fullbringer, if only because Arata did. They were connected to the necromancer who brought them forth from death's icy grasp; a hilarious ironic notion, given that they are the bringers of death themselves. Arata watched from the protection of the magic shroud blocking his existence from both sight and detection. Still, the cautious actions of Tetsuo were wise by Arata's standards. He typically thought humans as being foolish and rash, ready to attack enemies once they spot them or to approach a friendly person without worry of betrayal. Arata was one to enjoy chaos, but even he knew that a subtle approach was best not to create unnecessary devastation. Wordlessly, he pointed two of his fingers down toward where he could sense Tetsuo sneaking about. It was true, with such reiatsu toned down, he would escape detection by most individuals. But to avoid being noticed by a specialist of Kidō was no simple task. Within the close vicinity of Tetsuo, a long crackled into existence like a quiet lightning and moved with similar speed, seeking to wrap itself around the Fullbringer with the full intent of restraining his entire body. Almost at the same time that this had begun, the two Shinigami slowly began to descend toward where Tetsuo was. Both drew their weapons, holding their swords in hand while falling slowly toward his location. Arata did not actually believe he'd capture the Fullbringer with that spell. What he hoped to accomplish was to force the Fullbringer to move rashly without thinking, creating an opening for the two undead Shinigami to strike him down quietly. Megumi observed quietly as her companion made the first move, she foresaw no true difficulty on their part, and expected Arata to be able to deal with their foe. For now, she remained hidden and bided her time, while she increased the radius of her senses to prepare for any who might rush to the aid of their quarry. But a smile played on her lips, as she looked forwards to witnessing their foes fighting a futile battle. How marvelous it would be, to be sure. Megumi took a certain delight in watching the fruitless squirming of lesser beings, to watch them suffer as she once had. It was an enlightening experience, to see the realization on their faces as they grew closer to hopelessness. She would endeavor to assist the Shinigami puppets if necessary, of course, for they were valuable assets and prized possessions that ought to be preserved if possible. For now, she would merely watch. Meanwhile, Henkō put his hands back into the long sleeves of his robe and crossed his arms across his chest. There was a smirk on his wizened face, barely visible because of the shadow cast upon it by his hood. "I suppose your puppets shall suffice, Kogo-kun", he said in a calm tone. "As much as I'd like to unleash a few of my... acquaintances, it would be best for us to keep things quiet. There are far too many distractions in a place teeming with life like this to ensure they wouldn't stray from their mission." He had made a pact, a dangerous one, with the Daemons of Hell. At any time he could summon a few, or a whole group of lesser fell entities to act as his troops. Nevertheless, whilst they did not prove insubordinate, they had a tendency to enjoy their time out of Hell. Mindless puppets such as those summoned by the young mage were much more suitable for the task at hand. They required subtlety, not brutal effectiveness. The old man, wasn't the only one contemplating things. Back from the safety of his rooftop some distance away, Kōhaku held his black tie, now free from his neck. He wasn't sure whether to leave the simple garment behind or not, it was simple and not something to his taste, but the fabric used to make it was expensive. For a second he wanted to debate the idea with himself, cursing the fact that he'd become so wasteful with his money recently, but he wasn't allowed that kind of freedom at times like this. He cast it off, letting it flutter away in the light breeze of the air and with a light smile, returned to his duties. That meant withdrawing a pager his back pocket, his smile ever widening as a result. Bulky, over stylised and incredibly gaudy, the contraption was the epitome of Momohara's taste, or at least that's how Kōhaku saw it and he couldn't help but laugh every time he was forced to take a look at the thing. Shaking his head, he began making use of it, fiddling with the buttons to send out a message to all of the members of Xstence. A fairly standard message cropped upon the small screen: ｢STANDBY｣. Not much on its own, to be sure, but all of the Fullbringers working under Tetsuo knew exactly what it meant, and everyone within range of his towers would receive it. Despite the design of the device, Kōhaku couldn't help but compliment the thorough forethought Tetsuo had put into all of this. Putting the pager back where it came from, it was a simple walk towards the edge of the roof, and little more than a flash of green for his jump to the next building. Like that, he'd have to continue on till he got to Hōnara, assuming there were no distractions headed his way, of course. First Strike Tetsuo gauged the incoming bolt of golden light and estimated its speed and trajectory. His body fell naturally into the preparatory stance for sochin, and before the incoming energy had time to hit, he slammed his foot down on the ground. “''Ha!” he yelled with concentrated energy. Dirt and rocks were thrown up as a shield in front of him, and at the same instant Tetsuo retreated, disappearing with an electric flicker of light. The Hainawa snaked through the dust and debris before it fizzled out of existence on the ground, but by then Tetsuo had already reemerged in the clearing between the school’s fence and the woods. He did not attack the two Shinigami immediately. Instead, he assumed a defensive stance as he waited for them to approach. ''They might be provoking me,, he thought, wondering if they wanted him to retaliate. He still had no way of knowing what their purposes in Hōnara was, but they seemed to be making it clear that they did not intend to negotiate. Still, he refused to fight if it were at all possible to avoid a confrontation. “I think there’s been some mistake,” he called out, addressing the Shinigami directly, “Why are you attacking?” Without missing a beat, the two Shinigami vanished with a flicker, indicating flash step, appearing down at where the Fullbringer had stood in his defensive posture; with Rukia standing toward Tetsuo's front side and Renji standing at a distance on his back side. For that moment, they glared toward the target, and in that instant, Tetsuo would be able to see more of these two's strange features. Their skin was considerably pale, lacking color, and their eyes were very dim. It almost looked like they were unconscious and were trying to awaken from some kind of endless slumber. Yet their eyes carried a very mysterious intensity about them, as if they were staring deep into Tetsuo and trying to pierce through his very soul with their gaze. Both held their swords at the ready, matching the preparation displayed by Tetsuo's own stance, but made no actual move toward the Fullbringer. "We would... like your... surrender. Tetsuo... Momohara Tetsuo. We have... no interest... in killing... you." spoke Rukia in a quiet yet deepened voice. "No harm... intended. Nor friends will... be harmed. Only if you... come with us." then voiced Renji with a similar sounding tone. “If you want me to come with you, you’ll have to tell me why. Who sent you here?” Tetsuo’s voice was strong and unyielding. He did not back down, instead gathering his Reiatsu into the soles of his feet and his clenched fists as he prepared to react to however they might attack him. He was unsure of whether or not he could face two Shinigami on his own, but then he noted the wooden badges on their arms that marked their ranks as lieutenants and, with a sinking feeling, realized that his situation was dire. The best he could do at that point was to find an opening in which to escape, or hold out until help arrived. Where the hell are you, Kou. He thought angrily as he pictured his friend caught up in some stuffy mafia meeting, playing with a paperweight or otherwise making himself useless... Tetsuo quickly cleared his head of such thoughts. He had to concentrate if he hoped to survive. "It would be wise to listen to them, Momohara Tetsuo-san." came a voice that surrounded Tetsuo from all sides. It was Arata speaking from his concealed location, using a spell to project his voice through the air in the Fullbringer's immediate vicinity. "I'm afraid it won't do us very good to come clean about who we are, but I suppose I can spare a detail or two. You see, you carry something very important. You and your friend, Kōhaku. And we are in need of it for the greater good of the world. It is in the best interest of your friends, and of course, yourself, to come with us peacefully. Sophisticated souls such as us do not enjoy needless bloodshed." As the disembodied voice spoke, both of the Shinigami readied their weapons but remained still. While speaking, Arata had held his hands up and was wordlessly casting another spell. Both of the swords wielded by his Shinigami puppets began to emit a steady yet faint that surrounded it as a sort of hue. The closer somebody is toward this strange light, the more disoriented they would feel until finally passing out. For these blades, sheathed in light, to have enough of an effect on Tetsuo to knock him out, they would need to remain rather close to his face for a good amount of time. "You have three seconds to comply, otherwise... We will not be responsible for the blood that will stain this land." the voice stated once more. Tetsuo had tensed while the voice began to speak, and had projected his own senses in order to try and perceive its origin, but to no avail. Reikaku yielded no results. This is why I hate Mondays, Tetsuo thought to himself as the Shinigami’s Zanpakutō became shrouded in white energy. Yet the speaker, whoever they might have been, had made a mistake when they had decided to verbally answer Tetsuo’s questions, as he was able to exploit it as an opening in order to quickly deduce three things. First, that the Shinigami before him were not in control of their own wills. From the deadened state of their eyes, robotic motions, and the matching hue of their sword’s aura, he assumed they had been hypnotized or otherwise enslaved to the unseen master. Secondly, that whoever was controlling the Shinigami was nearby, considering their ability to observe and respond to what he had said. Third, that they had somehow concealed themselves so as to avoid detection via Reikaku. With his senses sharpened by the flooding adrenaline of all too familiar fear, never quite diminished despite his years of combat experience, he quickly settled upon a conclusion. After the invisible adversary had spoken, Tetsuo made a slight adjustment in his plans. There was now only one logical course of action. He could not surrender: not without knowing his attackers’ true purposes. He could not retreat: it would risk taking the fight to the other members of Xstence, and would possibly involve innocent bystanders. Thus the only recourse, for the time being, was to find the source and eliminate it. Tetsuo breathed in deeply, allowing oxygen to flood his veins as he began to pull on the soul of the very atmosphere that surrounded him, to the greatest distance possible. If Reikaku was ineffective, then he had only one other option left available to him. The space that surrounded him and the two Shinigami began to bend and twist as he pulled on the air, forcing it into a distortion. Invisible masses began to move, sucked toward the vacuum that surrounded Tetsuo. And in three seconds, he had determined a small pocket of space high in the air that did not waver like the sky around it did. Something was there. “You’re right,” Tetsuo responded to the final threat given by the voice, “I will.” With that he pushed himself off the ground, vanishing for a brief instant as he travelled up into the sky, away from the two Shinigami. And despite the bravado of his last statement, he promptly headed towards the dilapidated school building, as though he were in retreat. "Oh, where oh where, are you going to go?" Arata held his hands together in a prayer-like gesture, focusing in order to maintain his spell over his Shinigami puppets' blades. Once Tetsuo made his move, the two Shinigami vanished from their positions. Above the Fullbringer, Renji reappeared high in the sky and swung his sword down. In the moment that it was thrust out, the sword had undergone its release, transforming into a much longer and fiercer weapon as it extended out at great speeds; the white light maintained itself around the blade even as it was released. The weapon was lashed out toward Tetsuo with the intent of slashing him apart. Simultaneously, Rukia reappeared in between the Fullbringer and the school. She held up her sword at about eye-level, the blunt edge facing her, as a appeared at the center of the horizontally-held blade's sharp edge. "Sō... ka... tsui." she mumbled, the orb growing almost instantly to nearly triple its original size, resembling a swirling ball of contained blue flames before being launched toward Tetsuo. It was fired at the direction that Arata most likely believed Tetsuo was going to dodge the attack by Renji. "I trust you'll be able to handle yourself henceforth, Arata. It would appear we might've overestimated our prey, I shall seek out the other while you subdue this one." Megumi spoke chillingly, her words mirthless and cold, as the Kuchiki outcast even now sought to further the interests of the Coven, interests which at present were seen to here. Wordlessly, she focused upon the coordinates of Kōhaku, as tendrils of white energy, reminiscent of silken bands began to weave themselves around her frame in what appeared to be a cocoon of sorts; Jurō's spell had been flawless, as expected of a mage of his caliber, and with a silent nod to him in things she enshrouded herself entirely within the cocoon, before the spell and woman vanished into thin air. The spell had been tuned to deposit her close to the approaching Kōhaku; and this it did, as the woman materialized out of thin air a few yards in front of him. Her brown cloak billowing out in the wind over the rooftops, and her hair lashing about like a long black whip striking the air. Underneath raven-black bangs, were two eyes who regarded Kōhaku with a mix of disdain and palpable disgust. "I won't tell you to come with me quietly, Fullbringer. Nor will I deign to explain the reason for my visit, no, all you need to know is that I've been tasked with retrieving you, and retrieving you I shall, and I will break every bone in your body to ensure you can't flee from me. Filthy Mageless parasite." Quietly, the mage began moving menacingly towards Kōhaku, as her aura flared with arcs of lightning and sparkled with electric discharges. "Furthermore, don't even think about attempting to escape, or I will do.. this" With a flourish of her hands, Megumi unleashed upon the busy street they stood a gargantuan wave of raw lightning, which disintegrated all regular humans in the vicinity, tore through asphalt, concrete and ground and erased the entire district from the map in one go. As the spell died down, it would become apparent that nothing now remained of the busy street aside from a barren wasteland and toppled buildings. The discharge of lightning would be plainly visible overhead as several thick lances of brilliant blue striking down in the vicinity of Megumi; and would obviously alert all others with spiritual senses to her presence. Unlike her companion, this woman lacked subtlety. Miraculously, despite the immense power of the spell, Kouhaku would most likely find himself utterly unharmed, for Megumi had diverted the power away from him, leaving a large circle untouched beneath him, even as flames and bolts of lightning spread across the battlefield which had by now become a veritable warzone. Meanwhile, Jurō observed the aftermath of her spell crashing down upon the city. The sight of magic might unleashed amongst the steel and concrete of a mundane world was peculiar to behold, and rather difficult not to notice, given its potency. With his face partially obscured by the shadow cast upon it by the hood of his robe, he smirked and stroked his greying beard. "My, my. Seems some of us do not have any compunctions about the usage of brute force", he said and snickered briefly. "However, such a vivid display might attract some unwanted attention...", he added in a grim tone. With those words, he lowered both of his arms. He preferred to overlook things rather than participate directly, but the countdown had begun. Should the two Fullbringers prove capable of holding their own for slightly too long, he would have to interfere to finish the mission quickly. He did not doubt the abilities of his companions, yet at the same time he was of the "better safe than sorry" mindset. Time would tell. For a moment, Kōhaku had thought to himself This is Hell. Having to leap from rooftop to rooftop, tugging on the souls of all the inanimate matter, it ate at him. He could feel it, every step of the way, his stamina being gnawed away at by the supernatural forces he was forced to employ. But when he saw that brown fluttering cloak, the ebony hair, and the ensuing flash of white that toppled everything around him, he couldn't help but feel sick. Thinking something so trivial could be compared to the scene he witnessed, it made his stomach turn. Rather than waste time complaining inwardly, he could've picked up the pace. He could have been at Hōnara by now. But instead, he'd brought Hell down upon those innocent people, so little left behind of them in the aftermath that Kōhaku couldn't even tell how many people had been lost. I'm sorry, Momo-chan, I screwed up. Everything around him had been utterly erased, though his new found enemy had saw fit to avoid Kōhaku, clearly. There was a finely stood pillar of stone beneath his feet, a crumbling scrap of the building he had been standing atop a moment ago. Without even thinking about it, he had tugged on the air and turned it solid so that he could stand atop that instead, for the stone, with the rest of its mass eradicated, quickly toppled, shattering into rubble as it collided with the broken remains of the rest of the building. Kōhaku, looked up at her, his face twisted in anguish and rage. "Parasite, huh?", he repeated to himself, the words having only now just registered in his mind after that screeching blast had filled his senses. "A creature that latches onto a host and drains sustenance, irrespective of the host's wishes or desires", he rattled off relatively passively, almost contemplating the meaning behind it. He wasn't one to really react to insults, they never really meant anything to him, just empty words that someone used to make themselves feel better. But it was also rare of him to stand here in the aftermath of a man-made disaster, and to be in his right mind after all that, it was fortitude Kōhaku had yet to build for himself. "Sorry, miss, but considering the circumstances, you sound more like the parasite here than me", he withdrew something from his pocket. Obscured as it was by his hand and the ensuing light that engulfed it, one would be hard pressed to tell what it was he had brought out, that quickly stopped mattering however as it disappeared, transforming into a series of rings made out of interlinking black bones that floated around Kōhaku. "I don't know what you're playing at, but we could've talked it out, maybe I could've helped, even", his senses had been probing at everything they could all this time. He couldn't glean much, but he could feel that this woman was powerful, and obviously a soul. He had clashed with Hollows, misguided Fullbringers, and even the occasional Quincy, but souls... What would the spirits of Soul Society want here? He had to put it on the backburner. Contemplating now would get him killed, and as he could feel Tetsuo's own Reiatsu going crazy, Kōhaku was certain of what he needed to do. "I guess it makes sense you don't know how to negotiate, after all, you're just a rat, right?", that was most certainly petty, but Kōhaku was hoping to earn the woman's ire, just as she had most certainly got his. His hand went for his pockets again, at the same time as he tugged on the soul of the air. He darted forwards, right at Megumi, only to spring past her by an inch or two. The air having turned solid, he rested there like a haphazard looking frog with his e-cigarette held at a slant between his teeth. He had already inhaled from it and then forced out a cloud of vapor at the young woman. Incredibly ineffective as it would seem, the mist wasn't intended as a distraction, at least not in the most realistic sense. Possessing a Soul Fragment, Kōhaku had inherited the power of Reishi absorption and that just happened to be how he practiced it. The air would give him its share of energy, but souls? They were entirely made of that energy, and to gnaw at that would surely be painful, or so the albino theorised. Sticking around so close to someone carrying so much destructive power, wasn't his idea of a good time however, and so, the moment after the mist had been released, he turned the air into a more malleable form once more and shot off through the sky. Hōnara was right ahead, Momohara wasn't that far after. It was time for a game of cat and mouse. ---- The two Shinigami had surrounded him on either side, and as the blade of the transformed Zanpakutō shot towards Tetsuo, he quickly gauged his current location in relation to that of the other lieutenant. Then, without another second of hesitation, his tonfa had been drawn out in both hands and, crossing his forearms, he blocked the red-haired Shinigami’s attack. He allowed the strike to push him down, directly towards the other lieutenant. And as a blue orb materialized in front of her chest, he had oriented himself so that he was in between the spell and the Shinigami above. The Sōkatsui exploded outwards, but Tetsuo had already disappeared, vanishing with an electric sliver of light. His sudden absence would allow the blade of the Zanpakutō to continue its path towards the other Shinigami, just as her own spell threatened to contact her own partner. Tetsuo, however, did not wait to see how the two would react. He flickered into existence once: on the ground somewhere below Arata, and then, threading out a line of negatively charged energy that connected him with the point he had identified in the sky, established a conduit that would link him with his adversary. For a moment he paused and took out two coins of spare change from his pocket, holding one in each hand. He felt himself waver for a moment, as though he were suddenly dizzy, and widened his stance in order to stabilize himself. The effects of the Kidō spell used by the two Shinigami, however, were not yet strong enough for him to realize anything was wrong other than him simply having moved too fast to account for his own speed. The instant Tetsuo sprang, which emitted a pulse on the ground beneath him as he literally bent the electromagnetic spectrum through the sheer force of his movement, he was already in mid-strike. The two coins hurtled towards the point where he had identified Arata’s location, or non-location as the case may have been, only they were now charged with two streams of electricity. The points of blue, crackling light turned in on themselves around the orb of non-substance, and upon contact they would explode violently. At the same time, Tetsuo felt an electric shiver run through his spine as, in the distance, he could sense some other cataclysmic shifting of space as a torrent of electricity was unleashed. He sensed Kōhaku as well, making his way towards Hōnara. And, for a split-second, he was distracted from his own battle. The very air itself seemed to shatter apart as several erupted forth from the cracks of the space where Arata had been hiding. They would collide with the streams of lightning running toward his direction just as the electrical explosion had transpired, preventing a great deal of it from expanding outwards. Sounds of discharge were sent up the chains for a brief moment when they smashed against the colliding conduits, and once that danger was eliminated, so too did the chains fade away. And out of the cracked space, which opened up a bit more once the chain spell faded, out walked the mage himself; bearing his wicked smile, now for Tetsuo to personally see. "Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag, huh? For an inferior specimen, you sure are able to use that limited intellect of yours quite well." spoke his condescending voice. In that moment, where it was believed Tetsuo was distracted due to his comrades' welbeing, the two Shinigami were able to retaliate. Perhaps if these two were individuals, having to think for themselves and had poor teamwork as a result, such a manuever would've been the end of them. But regardless of their identities, the resurrected puppets were of a single collective mind. It was possible that their Fullbringer opponent was not even aware of this connection, and in that brief window in which Tetsuo was distracted, they would make full use of this perfect collaboration. As the blue sphere of flames rushed toward Renji, he tugged on his hilt, altering the course of his Zabimaru as it struck into the spell with its tip. But the flames did not die out. Rather, the motion of the sword continued to extend in Tetsuo's immediate direction, carrying the blue flames with it like a tunneling sharp projectile coated with embers. On the chance that either Tetsuo would not fall to the blade or managed to dodge it, Rukia prepared for those potential scenarios by once more raising her blade and focusing a spell at its center. This time, however, the creation was a series of lining up along the blade's edge. In the instant they formed, they were fired as significantly fast explosive projectiles that grew even larger as they approached Tetsuo from all different directions. Arata, now on the front lines, merely kept up his conscious guard while his hands returned to his jacket's pockets. Though he wasn't a direct combatant, he was sure he could handle the situation on his own. ---- Megumi did not follow after Kōhaku immediately, but instead recast the spell of Kakushitsujiaku upon him once more, in order to track his movement and precise coordinates, but before then, she had a statement to make. She'd warned him not to turn her back on her or try to escape, but the mageless one had done just that, very well, she'd have to show him that she was indeed serious. By now, the air had begun to fill with screams as people ran from the large gap in the crowded city. She followed them through the sky as they ran below her, like tiny ants to her eyes, a fitting vision of magelings. Then, with one hand outstretched she conjured forth a large condensed sphere of thunderous energies, crackling with great power; in her palm it began to increase in size at accelerated rates until it was twice as large as her entire body, hovering overhead akin to a blue sun, the entire orb balanced on the tip of her right pointing finger. With no movement wasted, Megumi unleashed her conjured spell onto the screaming masses below her, like a god bringing her divine judgement down upon heretics. Slowly, the orb fell to the earth, but when it did, it erupted into an explosion of tremendous destructive potential, sending a thick pillar of crackling energies reaching far into the skies. Megumi felt the first few pangs of fatigue at this feat, but she disregarded her mounting exhaustion; it was a necessary sacrifice. Underneath her, a massive crater had formed, as if a meteor had impacted in the middle of a bustling city. Wails of anguish were heard among those few who had miraculously survived, and by now, almost a full third of the town had been eradicated by Megumi alone, in the span of a few minutes. She paid the chaos below no mind, as she turned towards the direction to which her quarry had fled. She'd catch up with him in a moment. Meanwhile, in a perfect vantage point to watch the situation develop but otherwise unengaged, Jurō decided to participate in the mission more actively. He respected the prowess of his accomplices, no doubt, but he would like them to accomplish the goal a bit more quickly. After all, the Shinigami were over there, ready to pry into their affairs at the most inconvenient of moments. The faster the two Fullbringers were caught, the better. Consequently, he lifted his right hand. The wide sleeve lowered on its own, once again exposing the intricate network of tattoos etched on his forearm and hand. Some of them shone brightly, but no word escaped his mouth. There was no need to, for to announce the spell he was about to use aloud would mean certain death of their invaluable prey. A fine degree of control was all that he required. , the abolishing flames, easily one of his favourite standard spells. Coloured a muted shade of gold in recognition of his dominance over the form of the spell, several apparent will-o'-the-wisps emerged from his person and flew fast toward Kōhaku, not to strike him directly, but intercept and distract him long enough for Megumi to catch up with the Human.